Batman Family
"Batman Family" is the informal name for Batman's closest allies, generally masked vigilantes who either have been trained by Batman or operate in Gotham City with his tacit approval. The group consists of similarly-minded superheroes who operate in the Gotham City area and work towards achieving common goals. Batman is often the team leader or, in some cases, its dispatch. Various members of the group usually interact with one another and assist in each other's cases, even within their respective series. Although some members occasionally resent Batman’s intrusion into their lives, all respect him as a legend within the superhero community and rarely dare to challenge his authority. Most of the members also have a strong rapport with the Dark Knight due to their long and close relationships with him over the years, and consider him a close friend and ally, and acknowledge that he most likely shares that sentiment, no matter how averse he is to actually showing it. In a 2002 storyline in which Bruce Wayne is accused of murder, Batman's friends gather to prove his innocence. It has also been implied through Batman's history that this network serves as a surrogate family for Batman and keeps him from slipping too far into his ruthless vigilante persona. Current members (DC Rebirth) * Batman (Bruce Wayne) – The "patriarch" and leader of the team, young Bruce Wayne witnessed the brutal murder of his parents as a child, and used this trauma and his vast personal wealth to travel the world and acquire the skills needed to wage his war on crime. Recently, Wayne revealed to the public that he had been secretly funding Batman's activities for years (stopping short of admitting that he is Batman) and would use a new corporation, Batman Incorporated, to take Batman and his mission around the world. In the DC Universe, Batman is seen as something of an outlaw, although he holds a high reputation with many people due to his status as a member of the Justice League. It is also worth noting that Batman is widely considered "the world's greatest detective", possessing superior skills in observation, critical thinking and problem solving. * Alfred Pennyworth – The Wayne family butler and father figure to the rest of the Wayne family. Alfred raised Bruce Wayne after his parents were killed and considers Bruce a son in the much the same way that he considers Bruce's adopted children his grandchildren. * Nightwing (Richard John "Dick" Grayson) – An orphaned child acrobat who originally served as Batman’s first sidekick, Robin, and became Bruce Wayne's ward and later adopted son. Heir to the Batman title and considered The DC universe's greatest acrobat and greatest leader (he led several incarnations of the Justice League and the Teen Titans), skills in which he has surpassed his mentor. As an adult, he took up the identity of Nightwing, and served as protector of Blüdhaven, Gotham's ugly sister city to the south. During an extended absence of Bruce's, Dick temporarily served as Batman. In the New 52, Grayson returned to the identity of Nightwing. In Forever Evil, Nightwing's secret identity was exposed by the Crime Syndicate to the public, so after faking his death, with Batman being the only one who knows he is alive, he has joined the secret organization known as Spyral as Agent 37, though he has recently returned to being Nightwing. * Red Hood (Jason Todd) – A young street orphan that Batman caught trying to steal the tires off the Batmobile. Batman recognized some skills in the kid and adopted him as his second son and the second Robin. He later gets murdered by the Joker. Six months later, he was resurrected in a damaged state after Talia al Ghul tossed him in the Lazarus Pit which healed him completely. When Jason learns that Batman never avenged his death by killing Joker, he became Red Hood, his murderer's former alias and became at odds with the Batman Family. In the New 52, he makes an uneasy truce with his mentor and wears the Bat-Symbol on his costume. He forms a team with Starfire and Arsenal to investigate a group called "The Untitled". Jason later leads a new team of Outlaws consisting of Bizarro and Artemis. * Red Robin (Tim Drake) – The adopted son of Bruce Wayne. Another teenage crime fighter whose skill drove him to want to assist Batman after the death of Jason Todd. After his family is threatened and moved into witness protection, he is adopted as Bruce Wayne's son, becomes the third Robin, and later becomes the hero known as "Red Robin". In the New 52, Tim was offered the role of Robin by Batman but chose to be Red Robin out of respect for Jason Todd. He later leaves Gotham, and leads a new team called the "Teen Titans". But now has since been part of a new team formed by Batman and Batwoman (Kate Kane). * The Spoiler (Stephanie Brown) – The daughter of Cluemaster who became a teenage superhero. She is Tim Drake's love interest. When Tim retired, Stephanie became the new Robin but was fired for disobeying Batman's orders. She became Spoiler again and went after Black Mask. Black Mask captured and tortured her. He then killed her. Later, Dr. Leslie Thompkins faked her death and hid it from Batman and Robin until later on. She became Spoiler again and fights by Batman's side. When Cassandra Cain left the mantle of Batgirl, Stephanie becomes the new Batgirl. She is reintroduced in the New 52 title Batman Eternal once again as Spoiler; she adopts the title after being forced on the run by her father, Cluemaster. * Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) – The daughter of Gotham police commissioner Jim Gordon and love interest of Dick Grayson. Barbara began operating as Batgirl soon after the first appearance of Robin. After she was left paraplegic by the Joker, she became Oracle, the information broker to the DC Universe, and founded a covert team of female operatives called the Birds of Prey. Following Flashpoint, Barbara's history as Oracle is cut short; having reportedly undergone a miraculous and as-yet unknown method of recovery, Barbara began to serve as Batgirl once again, albeit with PTSD and anger issues stemming from her nearly fatal attack. * Robin (Damian Wayne) – The biological son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul as well as the grandson of Ra’s al Ghul. Damian is raised largely by subordinates in his grandfather’s terrorist organization, the League of Assassins, and trained by his mother until he began living in Gotham with the Wayne family. After Dick Grayson takes up the mantle of Batman, he chooses Damian to be the new Robin. Damian continues to operate as Robin, actively serving with his father upon his reemergence and Grayson's reemergence as Nightwing. In eighth issue of the New 52 Batman Incorporated series, Damian gets stabbed in the stomach with a sword by his clone, The Heretic and dies. Damian is then revived from the Chaos Shard on Apokolips during the comic series Robin Rises. * Ace the Bat-Hound – In 1955, a few months after the Superman mythos saw the introduction of Krypto, the Batman mythos introduced Ace the Bat-Hound, a German Shepherd with a black mask covering most of his head, who helped Batman and Robin on various cases. Ace later reappeared as Bruce's guard dog and companion in the television series Batman Beyond (in which Ace is portrayed as a black Danish hound), and the 2005 television series Krypto the Superdog. He also makes appearances as Batman's crime-fighting partner on the TV show Batman: The Brave and the Bold. The modern comic book version of Ace depicts him as a companion to Harold, rarely playing a role in the plotlines. In the new Batman and Robin, Bruce adopts a Great Dane for Damian. He names the dog Titus. Damian at first does not like the dog, but the two eventually bond. Bruce and Damian call the dog Ace as a nickname. * Batwoman (Kate Kane) – A wealthy heiress and disgraced former West Point cadet who became a superhero, Kate Kane appeared after the timeline-altering Infinite Crisis in the pages of 52. for several months. For a portion of 2006-2007's 52, she fought alongside Nightwing. In the wake of Bruce Wayne's apparent death in 2009, Batwoman was the feature character in Detective Comics for a short time, which prompted the launch of a Batwoman solo series with the onset of the New 52. * Catwoman (Selina Kyle) – One of Batman's early adversaries. In later years, she becomes his frequent love interest and defender of Gotham City's East End. One year after the events of Infinite Crisis, she retired (allowing Holly Robinson to take the mantle of Catwoman) and gave birth to a baby girl named Helena. Batman calls her out of retirement to infiltrate an Amazon sect. Following a series of kidnappings of her baby, Catwoman gives her daughter up for adoption. In the New 52, Selina is a 23-year-old thief who is in a romantic relationship with Batman. Even though she is not considered an actual member of Batman's team, she has helped Batman and his allies in various missions. * Julia Pennyworth – A SRR agent and Alfred's daughter, Julia took Alfred's place, when she found out Batman's secret, after her father was attacked by Hush. * Orphan (Cassandra Cain/Wayne) – A martial arts prodigy and daughter of the assassins David Cain and Lady Shiva. Batman and Oracle trained her as the next Batgirl. After abandoning this role, she briefly became leader of the League of Assassins. It is revealed later that the mercenary Deathstroke is responsible for brainwashing and influencing Cassandra's villainous activities. She has since been legally adopted by Bruce Wayne as his daughter. After the event of Batman: RIP, Cassandra ceased being Batgirl due to apparent frustration and passed her Batgirl identity to her close friend Stephanie Brown. After Bruce Wayne returns, it is revealed that Cassandra's disillusionment was a ruse, and that she had willingly handed over her Batgirl mantle to Stephanie under her mentor's request she do so in the event of his death or disappearance, so that her friend could grow as a hero even without Bruce's involvement. Tim Drake is revealed to have been in regular contact with her. She now operates as Black Bat, Batman Inc.'s representative in Hong Kong. She returned to Gotham during the events of Batman: Gates of Gotham to help stop the Architect from destroying the city. She returned to the mainstream continuity afterward in the 2015 Batman and Robin Eternal, where at the end she took her father's alias, Orphan. Moreover, a young woman, wearing a similar costume to that of Black Bat, appeared as a member of Batman Inc. *'Clayface' (Basil Karlo) – A former member of Batman's rogues gallery who is recruited by Batwoman to join her and Batman's team in Detective Comics. Tim Drake invents a device for Basil Karlo to allow him to hold his human form long enough to be allowed to live a normal life as a human and then be able to switch back into Clayface to fight crime with the team. In Detective Comics issue #973, Clayface was killed by Batwoman.Detective Comics #973 (p.17) * The Signal (Duke Thomas) – Batman's new daytime partner. A young boy living in Gotham who helps Bruce Wayne during Zero Year. He comes to work for Batman after his parents are made insane."Batman & The Signal: Duke Thomas Gets New Costume, Miniseries"All-Star Batman #2''Batman: Rebirth'' #1http://www.cbr.com/batman-signal-duke-thomas-new-costume/All-Star Batman #2Batman: Rebirth #1 * Batwing (Luke Fox) – The latest Batwing and son of Batman associate Lucius Fox. He joined Batman's team in Detective Comics but has stepped away from the Batwing role to pursue other heroic ventures. * Batman (Terry McGinnis) – The Batman of the future and biological son of Bruce Wayne. Debuted in Batman Beyond, in 2011 he entered the official DCU. * Azrael (Jean-Paul Valley) – Azrael was a genetically modified assassin of the Order of St. Dumas who once replaced Bruce Wayne as Batman when he was badly injured by Bane. Valley defeated Bane, but grew increasingly paranoid and violent. Bruce was forced to reclaim the mantle of the Bat. Valley returned to the Azrael identity and attempted to regain Batman's trust. After many years, he managed to find his way back into Batman's graces and served as an "Agent of the Bat" until his death. Because his body was never found, speculation arose as to whether he had actually died, but that speculation was laid to rest when Valley's body was reanimated as a member of the Black Lantern Corps during the Blackest Night. Jean-Paul was reintroduced in the pages of Batman & Robin Eternal and recently joined Batman's team in Detective Comics. * Harold Allnut – Harold was an aide of Batman's who helped design, make, and repair many of his gadgets. Harold was later killed by Hush. Harold does not appear in the New 52, but is alive again following DC Rebirth. * Oracle – Gus Yale is a young man who grew up as a fan of the original Oracle, Barbara Gordon. Confronted by the Birds of Prey for trading information to the mob, it was later found he was simply donating the money back to charity. From then he was hesitantly let onto the team.Batgirl and the Birds of Prey #4 & #5 Batman Inc. * Batman (Jiro Osamu) – formerly operated as the second Mr. Unknown, now serves as the Batman of Tokyo as a member of Batman Inc.Batman Inc. #2 * Nightrunner (Bilal Asselah) – Batman Inc.'s representative in Paris, a Sunni Muslim and expert freerunner.Batman Annual #28 * El Gaucho (Santiago Vargas) – renowned crime fighter in Argentina who was inspired by Batman, former member of Club of Heroes, now operates as a member of Batman Inc. * Knight (Beryl Hutchinson) – Formerly known as Squire, sidekick of Knight, Beryl takes on the mantle of the Knight after Cyril's death. * The Hood (George Cross) – Maverick Special Government Agent of England, now operates as a member of Batman Inc. * The Dark Ranger (Johnny Riley) – Following the death of the first Ranger at the hands of Wingman, his former sidekick, the Scout, has taken up the mantle as the new Dark Ranger. Now operates as a member of Batman Inc. He appears to be of Aboriginal descent. * Batwing (David Zavimbe) – The Batman Incorporated representative from Tinasha in the Democratic Republic of Congo.Introducing Batwing, The New Batman Based in Africa (Exclusive) A former child soldier, he now operates as a police officer in his civilian identity. * The Outsiders – Becoming fed up with the politics and practices of the Justice League, Batman formed the Outsiders to have his own unit to perform on his terms. Drifting through various incarnations, Batman restarted the team and operated as its leader until his disappearance in Final Crisis. In the wake of his death, he charged Alfred with assembling and maintaining a new team of Outsiders in an attempt to replace all the individual skills of Batman through the various members. In Batman Incorporated, Batman forms a new Outsiders team, which acts as a black-ops wing of Batman Inc. Freight Train, Looker, Metamorpho, Katana, and Halo rejoin the team and Red Robin becomes the new leader. The new team did not last long since all the members except for Red Robin were caught in an explosion that Lord Death Man set off in Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes. The team turned up alive in the first issue of the New 52 Batman Incorporated series. * Talon (Calvin Rose) – A former Talon of the Court of Owls who disobeys his masters and goes on the run from the Court. He is a world class escape artist and a trained assassin. He was killed by Bane, but revived by the Court with enhanced durability and strength. Rose starred in his own series after the launch of the New 52. The last issue of the series sees Rose inducted into Batman Incorporated.Talon #17, May 2014 Five years in the future (Future's End) * Batgirl (Cassandra Wayne) – a.k.a. Orphan, Black Bat. Cassandra made her debut in the New 52, five years in the future, where she is a member of the League of Batgirls, led by Barbara Gordon a.k.a. Bete Noir. * Batgirl (Stephanie Brown) – a.k.a. Spoiler. Five years in the future, she is a member of the League of Batgirls, led by Barbara Gordon a.k.a. Bete Noir. * Batgirl (Tiffany Fox) – The youngest daughter of Lucius Fox. Five years in the future Tiffany has joined the League of Batgirls, led by Barbara Gordon a.k.a. Bete Noir. * Robin (Duke Thomas) – a.k.a. Signal, Lark. Five years in the future, Duke has become the new protege next to Batman. * Batman (Baber Shah) – a.k.a. Shah, Baber. Few Years of Later in future after Batman Beyond seen as an international business tycoon that was located on the map in the Pakistani city of Karachi. Deceased members * Orpheus (Gavin King) – Orpheus was an agent of a shadowy organization that had outfitted him with crimefighting equipment and training. He became one of Batman's agents and posed as a crime boss, but was later killed by Black Mask. Gavin does not appear in the New 52 and he is probably still considered dead. * Deadman (Boston Brand) – Boston Brand was murdered by a member of the League of Assassins and returned to life to ask Batman for help in solving his murder. When the organization behind it comes to light, the pair work together to topple the group. In the New 52, Deadman is a member of Justice League Dark. * Knight (Cyril Sheldrake) – The original Knight was Percival Sheldrake who became the sidekick of Shining Knight as Squire during the World War 2 period. He became the Knight as an adult and made his son, Cyril the new Squire and teamed up with Batman. When Percy died, Cyril became the new Knight and adopted Beryl Hutchinson as his new Squire. After he joined Batman Inc., he was killed by a henchman of Leviathan. Status unclear New 52 * Lucius Fox: Although far less privy to Bruce Wayne's personal life than his business dealings, Lucius Fox is a trusted close associate of Wayne as his business manager responsible for both Wayne Enterprises and the Wayne Foundation. Depending on Fox's incarnation, Lucius may know nothing of Bruce's secret life; have some hints about it (such as Batman Begins), where he knows Bruce is doing something, but prefers not to know exactly what, for the purpose of deniability; or know about it entirely, as is the case in The Batman and The Dark Knight, Batman: Arkham Knight, Batman: The Enemy Within as well as his current mainstream incarnation (The New 52/''DC Rebirth). * 'The Birds of Prey' – A covert group of heroes formed by Oracle that largely fight crime in Gotham. Prominent members have included Black Canary, Lady Blackhawk, and Helena Bertinelli as the Huntress. Following "Flashpoint", the team has been rebooted with Black Canary as the leader, Starling, Poison Ivy, Katana, and Batgirl assisting the team on occasions. The group disbanded and is inactive following a severe falling out between Canary and Batgirl in ''Birds of Prey Vol. 3 #34. * Azrael (Michael Washington Lane) – The Third Ghost of Batman, one of a series of Batman impostors created by Dr. Simon Hurt, has recently become the new Azrael wearing a mystical suit of armor given to the original Batman by Talia al Ghul. In the New 52, Michael's absence from Batman's organization is explained by his choosing seclusion and daily prayer as a way of repenting for all that he did as a tool of Ra's Al Ghul and Doctor Hurt, believing himself to hold an important role in the apocalypse. * Man-Bat (Kirk Langstrom) – alternates from being able to control his monstrous persona to giving in to its instincts. When he does control it, he uses the Man-Bat identity for good. He was recently seen as part of the Network fighting crime. In the New 52, Kirk Langstrom first appears where he and his wife Francine are escorted by Batwoman to Batman's location. Taking responsibility as the creator of the serum, he uses a sample of the serum Batman had obtained to inject himself. This creates an anti-virus which also spreads through the air. Unfortunately, Langstrom is turned into a Man-Bat (the last remaining Man-Bat) as his anti-virus cures the remaining citizens of Gotham. After reverting from the Man-Bat form, Langstrom becomes addicted to the Man-Bat serum, taking it every night. However, he apparently does not remember his actions from the night, worrying that a string of reported killings is his fault. * The Huntress (Helena Wayne) – The daughter of the Batman and Catwoman of an alternate universe established in the early 1960s as the world where the Golden Age stories took place. As a young girl she was amazed to learn that her father was Batman and embraced Dick Grayson as her older brother and she looked up to Alfred as a second father. Under the code name "Huntress", Helena also struck up a friendship with fellow new superheroine Power Girl who was also a part of the JSA, her father's old team, and Infinity Inc. In the Post-''Flashpoint'' Earth 2 continuity, Helena was the daughter of Bruce and Selina Kyle-Wayne. She was also the only Robin to her father's Batman identity. During an attempted Apokoliptian invasion, both her parents die and she only adopts the Huntress identity after accidentally arriving on Prime Earth through a Boom Tube, along with the Supergirl of Earth 2. The Worlds' Finest storyline explores how Helena and Kara arrived on main DC Earth and their attempts to return to their source Earth, five years after their arrival. While on Prime Earth, Helena keeps her existence a secret, using several fake aliases and avoids visiting Gotham City. Eventually, she meets both that Earth's version of Robin, Damian Wayne, who is also Batman's biological child and later on Batman himself, who according to her is nothing like her father. During the World's End storyline, Helena and Kara found their way back to Earth 2, where she was united with her thought to be dead grandfather, Thomas Wayne, who has taken over the identity of Batman. * Hawkfire (Bette Kane) – A perky, blonde teenager and professional tennis player, Bette Kane became the original Batgirl to pursue the original Robin, Dick Grayson. Now known as Flamebird, Bette is pursuing her dream to become her cousin, Kate Kane's apprentice. In the New 52, Bette has become Batwoman's sidekick and goes by Plebe and wears a grey jumpsuit after Kate burns her Flamebird costume. She and Batwoman get into a fight and she goes out on patrol alone as Flamebird, but ends up injured in a gang fight. After she is released from the hospital, she acquires a new high-tech costume with actual pyrotechnic accents and becomes Hawkfire. She is now trying to get Kate to reconcile with her uncle, Kate's father. Pre-New 52 * Bat-Mite – a reality altering imp from the 5th dimension Bat-Mite made many early appearances as Batman's "biggest fan". Current continuity has treated him as an apparition of Batman's imagination, most recently during Batman's psychological breakdown at the hands of the Black Glove organization. During this, Bat-Mite described imagination as the 5th dimension and described himself as, "the last fading echo of the voice of reason". Bat-Mite does not appear in the New 52, even though he appeared in one of the covers of Detective Comics #27 for the 75th anniversary of Batman. * Creeper (Jack Ryder) – A Gotham City television personality that lost his job and became a security guard which brought him into conflict with the mob. After he was almost killed, Ryder was saved by a scientist that made him into Creeper. Early in his career, he would team up with Batman and became a frequent ally, even joining the Outsiders. In The New 52, Creeper was one of Andre Brigg's candidates for a United Nations-sanctioned Justice League; however, The Creeper was not selected to join the group. His origin is explained in Phantom Stranger #7, where Jack had recently quit his job as a talk show host at Morgan Edge's network. After intervention from the Phantom Stranger, Ryder ends up being killed by a monster's attack on Metropolis. In Katana #3, after Katana's sword is broken by Killer Croc, the spirit of the Creeper is released from the captivity of her sword. It revealed that Katana's Soultaker sword was used to kill and imprison the Creeper. In the following issue, Creeper is seen bonding to Jack Ryder's dead body. Creeper uses Jack's body to cause chaos, and after he is done, Jack Ryder stays in the crime scene so he can be the first one to report the news. * Holly Robinson – is a former prostitute trained by Wildcat and her friend Selina Kyle, to briefly become the new Catwoman following the birth of Selina's daughter. In her civilian identity, retaining the skills she learned in training to become Catwoman, she was a primary character in Countdown. The series saw her receive extensive Amazonian training as part of Granny Goodness' scheme to acquire new Female Furies. In the series' denouement, she and former supervillain friend Harley Quinn return to civilian life in Gotham, together but later Holly decides to begin a new life elsewhere on her own with money she received after helping Selina steal Tommy Elliot's fortune. Holly does not appear in the New 52. * Ragman (Rory Regan) – A similarly vengeful vigilante hero operating in Gotham, Ragman wears a mystical suit of living rags that functions as a kind of golem. Ragman does not appear in the New 52. * Bat-Cow is a bovine member of the Batman Family. Rescued from the slaughterhouse during one of Batman's raids on Leviathan, it was taken as a pet by Robin, Damian Wayne. The experience also made Robin a vegetarian. Bat-Cow was created by Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham, first appearing in Batman Incorporated (Volume 2) #1. * Simon Dark – A mysterious vigilante active in Gotham City, Simon Dark is a patchwork man constructed from the bodies of several dead children by a medical genius and a dark cult. Simon does not appear in the New 52. * Proxy (Wendy Harris) – The daughter of the villain the Calculator was paralyzed during an attack when she served with her brother on the Teen Titans. She acts as Oracle's sidekick and assists the new Batgirl; however, her connection to the rest of the Bat Family at large is unclear. Pre-Crisis, Wendy was the niece of detective Harvey Harris, a mentor to a young Bruce Wayne. Wendy does not appear in the New 52. * Catgirl (Kitrina Falcone) – Catgirl is Catwoman's sidekick. Kitrina is known for her abilities as an escape artist, first escaping from a locked box while tied up and thrown in the water by her uncle, Mario Falcone, and escaping from Catwoman while tied in an "inescapable knot". Kitrina does not appear in the New 52. * Lynx – Originally seen allied with Gotham's villains, Lynx would later be seen fighting alongside its heroes. After battling Red Robin, he comes to believe she is on his side. Lynx does not appear in the New 52. Former members (Pre-New 52) * The Huntress (Helena Bertinelli) – The daughter of a slain mafia family. She rejected crime and took to patrolling Gotham as an antiheroine. She serves as an agent of Oracle, one of the Birds of Prey. While her relationship with Batman has been tenuous, she recently earned his respect. Following the Flashpoint event that altered DC Comics continuity, it has been revealed that Helena Bertinelli has been dead for a while, while The New 52 Huntress has been revealed as Helena Wayne. It is later revealed that Bertinelli has faked her death and works as a spy, named Matron, for the secret organization known as Spyral, alongside Dick Grayson. At the conclusion of the Grayson series, much like Dick Grayson, Bertinelli also leaves Spyral and takes up the mantle of the Huntress and starting from DC Rebirth, much like her pre-Flashpoint version, she joins the Birds of Prey. * Talia al Ghul – is the daughter of Ra's al Ghul and is the mother of Damian. After learning of her son's intention to remain Robin, as well as his new devotion to his father's family, Talia has disowned Damian in favor of another son she will create, and put a bounty on his head as well as declared a personal war on Bruce Wayne. The clone eventually kills Damian, which Talia did not anticipate, and leaving the grieving Batman vindictive towards her and the clone. In the final issue of Batman Incorporated, Talia is killed by Kathy Kane. * Harvey Dent – The former District Attorney, and previously known as the villain Two-Face. He was deemed cured after his facial reconstruction surgery by Dr. Thomas Elliot. Dent was requested by Batman to watch over Gotham City during his one-year absence with Robin. Dent's style of justice has been more brutal than Batman's precision-style vigilantism. Upon Batman's return to Gotham, a series of grisly murders of several members of Batman's rogues gallery points to Dent. When confronted by Batman, Dent blows up his apartment. The inner turmoil created by the situation forced Two-Face out of his psyche once again, and he is seen re-scarring his face with a scalpel and acid. In the New 52, in Batman and Robin #28 '' it is implied that Dent has achieved closure and that he commits suicide by shooting himself in the head. * 'Bane' – He would come to be an ally to Batman following their initial encounter; however, in the events surrounding Infinite Crisis, he appeared to return to his evil ways. Yet, he proves to walk a fine line as observed in the Secret Six. In the New 52, Bane has officially returned to being one of Batman's adversaries. * 'Riddler' (Edward Nygma) – After waking up from a coma, he has gone "legit" and formed a well-known detective agency that sometimes helps Batman. When Riddler gets caught in a bomb explosion, the explosion re-awakened his psychosis. In the New 52, Riddler has officially returned to being one of Batman's adversaries. * 'Deadshot' (Floyd Lawton) – He entered Gotham as what appeared to be another crimefighter. However, he would try to kill Batman to be the city's only hero. He would return later in the Suicide Squad, forced to help people but when he learned he had a daughter, he sought to wipe out gangs that threatened her home. As a member of the Secret Six, he often walks a line between cold-blooded killer and murderous saint. In the New 52, Deadshot has officially returned to his evil ways, being a member of the Suicide Squad. * 'Catman' (Thomas Blake) – He started his career modeled after Catwoman and Batman as a foe to the latter. Catman would also work for the Shade to help destroy remnants of Green Arrow's life as a hero after his apparent death, seemingly giving up crime and retiring. As a member of the Secret Six, Blake seems motivated to do good but is haunted by his violent, animal-like nature. Thomas reprises his established status as a core member of the Secret Six with the New 52 relaunch of the title. * 'Cheyenne Freemont' – A fashion designer and daughter of two metahumans, she is reluctant to use her abilities as her parents were run out of town for using theirs. Briefly involved with Dick Grayson, she creates a costume similar to Nightwing's and uses her powers to help Nightwing save Jason Todd from the Pierce brothers before retiring as the female Nightwing. Cheyenne does not appear in the New 52. * 'Sasha Bordeaux' – Bruce Wayne's former bodyguard. Events forced her from his side that resulted in a long journey, arriving at the government organization known as Checkmate. After being turned into a partial OMAC cyborg, she now holds the title of Black Queen in the organization. Sasha does not appear in the New 52. * 'Onyx' (Onyx Adams) – Orpheus' bodyguard and protector. She took up his position as gang leader after Orpheus' death. A bond developed between Onyx and Cassandra Cain. After the events of ''Infinite Crisis, she was not seen in Gotham until Birds of Prey #114 in 2007, which reveals she has remained an active vigilante and a contact of Oracle.[https://archive.is/20070623103614/http://www.newsarama.com/dcnew/Jan08/previews/16th.html Newsarama previews of Birds of Prey #114 and Booster Gold (vol. 2) #6] In the New 52, Onyx is the leader of the Fist Clan, a part of the Outsiders, a secret society composed by various clans built around a totem weapon. * Club of Heroes – An international group of heroes largely made up of those inspired by Batman (counting him among their number). They would later disband but would reunite when the occasion arose. Several of their number went on to join Batman Inc. * Manhunter – The name of three associates of Batman. :Paul Kirk was a masked man during WWII that became a pawn for the Council when they genetically altered him into an assassin. When Kirk learned that the Council was using him and created clones of him as their soldiers, he joined with ninja master Asano Nitobe and Interpol agent Christine St. Clair to destroy the organization and kill his doubles. Kirk would add Batman to this group before his demise in his mission, the remaining trio continuing his work posthumously. An exception in this would be made for the clone Kirk DePaul. Neither Paul or his clone appear in the New 52. :Mark Shaw was a human infiltrator for the Manhunters that would later distance himself from the group and become the super-villain Star-Tsar, infiltrating the Justice League as the Privateer. After some time in prison, he wiped his record with service in the Suicide Squad. Afterward, he would again go by the name Manhunter as a bounty hunter working with Oracle operating largely out of New York. Shaw would take down several of Batman's rogues before the two met battling the Sportsmaster. In The New 52, Mark Shaw appears in the Forever Evil storyline as a U.S. Marshal who is assigned to find Barbara Minerva, the Cheetah. He is referred to as "one of the best manhunters" in the United States Marshals Service. :Kate Spencer is the grand daughter of Phantom Lady that took up the title Manhunter and later joined the Birds of Prey. She is currently the district attorney for Gotham City where she at one point continued to operate alongside the Birds as Manhunter. Kate does not appear in the New 52. * Jason Blood – A demonologist based out of Gotham. Generally when dealing with such matters, Batman has consulted Blood (and employed help from Blood's "companion", the demon Etrigan). When the Justice League was stuck in the past, Blood was recruited to form a new version of the group based on a contingency plan established by Batman. In the New 52, his past and origins are largely unchanged. Etrigan is still shown as a demon forcibly bound to a young Jason Blood in a gambit to stave off the destruction brought by the Fall of Camelot and in the revised continuity he is tied to other Dark Ages-based heroes and villains. In the present Etrigan's body lies buried in London; it is explained that he was sealed there by his own friends because of his betrayal on them, but magic emanating from it is able to possess persons above, eventually freeing the demon who promptly attacks Apollo and Midnighter. The entire Stormwatch then battles Etrigan but even after being defeated, he is able to possess a host and flees. * Nimrod the Hunter (Dean Hunter) – He was framed for a crime he did not commit by the criminal named Chancer. Breaking out of prison, he stole a military suit of armor and sought to clear his name with Batman's help. In The New 52, a new version of Nimrod appears named Maxim Zarov, a highly skilled hunter who uses teleportation techniques and is a member of, or an associate with, the Anti-Superman Army. Category:Batman characters Category:DC Comics superhero teams Category:Gotham City Category:Fictional vigilantes Category:Fictional elements introduced in 1940